The Legend of Gensokyo
by garrettthomas1502
Summary: Collaboration with maddiepink5, a very good author. Contains OC, but still has many of ZUN's characters. Might become rated T in the future, but as of now, is K-plus for mild language. Please review, all criticism is welcome!
1. Prologue

The Legend of Gensokyo

Characters and setting by ZUN, Story by Garrett Thomas

~Prologue~

"Reimu, wake up! Rinnosuke found something and has called a meeting at Kourindou!"

Aya rudely woke me up and flew away, probably snapping a few shots of me sleeping beforehand.

I woke up, made some tea, and swept in front of the shrine while I waited for it to cool. When I was finished, I started to leave.

"Where are you going, m'lady?" Genji, my old (_really _old) turtle friend, was relaxing by the lake behind the shrine, as usual.

"Over to Rinnosuke's shop. Apparently, something's so important that a youkai would wake me up to tell me about it. Or, I guess she sorta told me about it."

"Not like you ever do your job anyway..."

"What was that, Gramps?"

"Oh, nothing..."

On my way there, Marisa stopped me and was rambling about some legend. I tuned her out most of the time, but she managed to get some words through my mental filter. Something about the "Legend of" whatever, and "Rinnosuke found" something or other. _I don't care, Marisa, I'll find out when I get to Kourindou._

"Is this what Aya woke me up about?"

"Probably. I asked her to help spread the word. She's probably at the Scarlet Devil Mansion by now, ze."

"Huh. This must be really important, for her to travel so far just to let them know."

"Well, they are readers of Bunbunmaru News, and this is something that everyone in Gensokyo should know."

"So all of Gensokyo is going to be there? Ugh, there are some faces I really don't want to see."

"Don't be ridiculous. That would be crazy, da ze. Just everyone in the general area, I think."

"Hmm... well, shouldn't you be spreading the word?"

"Ahh, you're right! Catch ya later, ze!"

Damn, she is fast...

I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten my amulets and spell cards at the shrine, so I turned back. _I'm going to be late..._

Arriving at Kourindou, I found that most of the locals were already there, even Aya and Marisa. _Crap, I was too slow and got here late. _A certain ice fairy, along with a night sparrow, a firefly, a youkai of darkness, and four other fairies, gasped and hid in a tree when they saw me, but with the eight of them they could have beaten me, tired as I was, if they would have teamed up. Sakuya was there, pouring Remilia some tea. China - I mean - Meiling and Patchouli weren't there; Meiling probably fell asleep on the way, and Patchouli was probably sick or reading. I could have sworn I saw Marisa and Alice holding hands, but as soon as I looked, they put their hands behind their backs and looked away, blushing. The Prismrivers were there, practicing their newest song. _How far away did Aya go?_ Eirin, Reisen, Mokou, and Tewi were there as well. Eirin and Reisen were talking about medicine, I think, while Tewi and Mokou played a game. Sanae, Yukari...almost everyone I knew was there, as well as many I didn't know. _Marisa, I thought you said it'd be ridiculous if all of Gensokyo was here! _Rinnosuke was standing in front of the large gathering, looking very proud.

"Marisa!" I walked towards where she and Alice were standing. Alice folded her arms and turned her back. _Oookay, then?_ "I thought you said that this would be ridiculous!"

"I asked a few more people than I said I would, but you should really be asking Aya about this; I didin't tell all these youkai, ze!"

"So it's Aya's fault, huh?"

I approached Aya. "How come there are so many youkai here?"

"Um, well, I told a ton of people in return for some information. I got two articles written per person! One from the information, and one about how they can't keep a secret! But I think some of them told others..."

"Are you crazy? Someone could get eaten!"

"Everyone, please, quiet. This is a finding that will change your understanding of Gensokyo." Nobody seemed to hear Rinnosuke's request. He pulled out something that looked like a sideways mountain, except smaller and hollow. He pressed a button and it made a horrible screeching sound. His voice now rang loud and clear: "EVERYBODY, PLEASE LISTEN."

Everyone except the Prismrivers and Mystia shut up, but Reisen altered the sound wavelengths so that they were silent (well, Mystia was made barely audible, so she wouldn't die.)

"Thank you, Reisen."

"Anytime. Tewi, please sit down. You two can finish your game of...um..."

I looked and saw them playing what looked like a cross between tag and Kagome, Kagome. I was curious about what the game really was.

"Oni tag!"

"Oni tag. Got it. You can play at the mansion, okay?"

"Fine." The earth rabbit and immortal girl sat down, looking a little bummed.

"I have gathered all of you here today to announce that I have found something that was previously thought to have been lost to all of Gensokyo."

Cirno fell out of the tree. "Is it about me?"

"No, Cirno. It is the-"

"Oooh, is it the spell that can make people do whatever you want?"

"Marisa, weren't you the one spreading the word?"

"Oh, right."

"It is the Legend of Gensokyo!"

"I already have that."

"No, Keine, this is the real one! Not your spell card. The spell card even says 'Pseudo-History'. This tome I am holding documents the REAL beginning and early age of Gensokyo!"

Everyone gasped, including me.

"Reisen, would you mind unsilencing the Prismrivers?"

"Sure thing."

Our eardrums were assaulted by the volume and cacophony of the phantom ensemble's work-in-progress. Rinnosuke made a hand motion to tell Reisen to turn their volume down, but she was way ahead of him. The volume was now a more ear-friendly one.

"Ow, my ears! Do you three always have to play so loud? My head is killing me now."

"Here, Reisen, try this new-"

"No thanks, I won't be a lab rabbit for your new medicine."

"Girls, would you mind playing something...finished? And suitable for a legend?" Rinnosuke tried

"Ah, sure thing, as long as we're playing something," said Lyrica.

"How about 'Reach for the Moon, Immortal Smoke'?" Lunasa obviously has good taste in music.

"No, no! It's great and all, but not suitable for a legend!" yelled Merlin. Mokou seemed disappointed. "How about that one song, the Eastern Wind one?"

"You mean 'Hakurei ~ Eastern Wind'? I asked, irked that she forgot that my name is in the title of that song.

"Yeah, that's it!"

Mystia flew clumsily out from the tree and moved her mouth. She was waving some piece of paper around. Reisen sighed and unmuted her. "...wrote some words for that one! Wanna see?" She showed the sisters the lyrics, and all three liked them. "Can I sing to it? Pleeeeeeease?"

"Mystia, look out!"

Yuyuko was sneaking up behind her, licking her lips. Mystia screamed, grabbed her lyrics, and hid in the tree again.

"Lady Yuyuko, please curb your appetite."

"But Youmu, she was so tasty the first time."

"We have plenty of food in the Netherworld, and besides, we don't want her friends coming for revenge again. I was picking up frozen frogs all day."

"Thanks for saving me, Wriggle. I was almost ghost-food again!" Mystia had tears in her eyes. Is Yuyuko really that scary? Then again, being eaten probably isn't fun.

"You can sing along, Mystia!", the Prismrivers all shouted in a chord.

And so, after a few minutes minutes of craziness, Rinnosuke was able to begin telling his tale.

**I do not own any of the characters, places, etc. Touhou Project is owned by ZUN/Team Shanghai Alice. I do not claim to own any part of the franchise.**


	2. Chapter 1: The Tale of Sakai Utsukushii

Chapter 1

The Tale of Sakai - Origin of Gensokyo

Before there was Gensokyo, there was a girl. Her name was Sakai Utsukushii, apprentice to the Hakurei family. Master Hakurei taught young Sakai how to create barriers. She lived at the shrine and assisted Master Hakurei with anything he needed help with in his old age, for example, sweeping the leaves and carrying in the donation box at night.

Sakai was always inquiring about when she would be able to create larger borders, as she was only allowed to make small ones, only large enough to barely contain the donation box. However, Master Hakurei knew Sakai wasn't ready to make a large barrier yet. "It would be far too dangerous. You still have a long way to go before you can make large barriers," he said, patting his pupil's head.

"I can do it. I know I can." she paused her chores to go feed the turtle that lived behind the shrine. "You believe in me, right, Genjii?" Genjii was the name she had given to the turtle, since Master Hakurei had told her that the turtle was over fifty years old. [author's note at bottom]

The turtle did not say no, of course, for he was a turtle. The young girl took this as a yes, and smiling, went back to her chores.

"What is that girl smiling about?", Master Hakurei asked himself. _Young people._ He let out a loud, hearty laugh.

_What is Master Hakurei laughing about? Old people._

That night, Sakai sneaked outside to the lake. "Are you ready, Genjii? I'll show Master Hakurei what I can do!" She focused all her energy, and attempted to put the entire shrine in a box-shaped barrier. However, she missed, and only put half of the shrine in it. Before the young student could see how she did, she passed out from using all her energy. She woke up in a strange area she had never seen before. She recognized only the shrine, the lake, and her friend Genjii. The horizon was nearby, or so she thoughts, when she walked toward it and found out it was the edge of existence there. It was moving outward, causing the area to become larger, and the movement was speeding up. Sakai looked around and saw that the other edges were moving, creating the most beautiful landscape she had ever seen. She ran and played happily in this new realm. She eventually grew tired, and went back to the shrine to get some rest...

...where she found an angry Master Hakurei waiting for her. "You foolish child! Do you know what could happen now?"

"W-what will happen, Master Hakurei?", Sakai asked, on the verge of tears.

"You created a world of illusion! What were you trying to do? I never thought a pupil could make something so huge!"

"I was just trying to prove to you-" she could no longer contain her tears.

"Sakai, what did you attempt? If something isn't done soon, the worlds will merge and nothing will make sense. It will be the end of life as we know it."

"I-I was trying...to put a barrier around the shrine...t-to prove that I could make a big border...but I missed, and I only got half the shrine...and Genjii's there, and the lake..."

"Genjii? Oh, you mean that old turtle. I see what happened. You were planning on the shrine taking up space within the barrier, but since you missed, half of the barrier was empty, causing it to be made up...Tell me, did anything unusual happen there?"

"Well, the edge of the place was moving, and it was getting bigger and bigger-"

"It might be too late, then. If it is not too late, the merging could be stopped by putting up a stronger barrier to contain the new world you accidentally created. I can do it, but I'll need at least a day's meditation to do so. Do not disturb me unless there is an emergency, and take care of the shrine, please. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master Hakurei."

The next day, Sakai did everything Master Hakurei had taught her to do in the event that he was unable to tend to the shrine. She occasionally checked on Master Hakurei, and once she was done, went back to her land of illusion, which she named Gensokyo. It was much different than before, with the moon, a mountain, another lake, and many other features.

She found a meadow and smelled flowers for a while, then decided to check out the new lake. It was a long hike, but Sakai was a very energetic young girl. When she got to the lake, she found that it was colder than ice. There were many frogs around the lake, and, surprisingly, were not afraid of her. She picked one up and it did not try to escape. She made funny faces at it, and it blankly stared.

"What are you doing to my friend?" A voice behind Sakai made her jump.

She slowly turned around and saw a girl wearing a dress with frogs on it. "Uh...uh...friend?"

"Yes, that frog is one of my dear friends and I would appreciate it if you set him down."

Sakai set the frog down at once. "Who are you?"

"My name is Suwako Moriya. I live here."

"Sakai Utsukushii. How can you live here? This place didn't exist until yesterday."

"All I know is that I came into existence at the same time as that mountain over there. What's your name?"

"So...these frogs are your friends?"

"Yes. I created them."

"No you didn't, frogs exist in the real world too!."

"Real world? Isn't this the real world?"

Sakai explained the accident with the shrine and Suwako understood, surprisingly.

"Something does seem off about this place. That explains it."

"Wanna play a game?"

"Sure, what game?"

"Do you know how to play tag?"

"What's tag?"

"One person is it, and-"

"One person is what?"

"It."

"What is it?"

"It is the person who has to catch the other person, and yell "Tag!", and then run away, because when you get tagged, you're it."

"It sounds like fun! Can I be it?"

"Sure, but you have to wait ten seconds for me to start running first!"

The two girls played until they were both tired.

Sakai noticed that the sun was getting low in the sky. "I have to go back to the real world now."

"Will you come back?"

"Yeah, you're nice, Suwako!"

"Do you promise?"

"Promise."

Sakai got back to the shrine to find, again, an angry Master Hakurei.

"Where have you been?"

"Playing with Suwako."

"Who's Suwako?"

"A girl that lives in Gensokyo on the mountain."

"Oh, no. This is bad. We must seal off Gensokyo completely.

"Noooo!" I promised Suwako I would come back!"

"You promised that to a stranger?"

"She's not a stranger, she's my friend and she'll be all alone except for her frogs if I don't come back!"

Master Hakurei sighed and patted Sakai's head again. "You keep your promises. That is honorable. I will put an impenetrable barrier around Gensokyo to keep it from spreading into the real world, but I'll keep weaker here at the shrine, so you can play with Suwako. Okay?"

"But wouldn't the world spread through the hole at the shrine?"

"Not if you keep the border strong. The hole will be just about the size of myself."

"You're trusting me to keep it strong? But I failed with my first barrier..."

"You're skilled enough. Trust me."

And so, the Hakurei Border, as it is now called, was created.

Years later...

"Master Hakurei. I would like to live permanently in Gensokyo. I created it, and I feel I must maintain it."

"You are much wiser now than you were then. Very wise indeed. I will let you leave the shrine on one condition. You must demonstrate to me what you have learned."

"What do you wish I do, Master?"

"Put a barrier around the shrine. A strong one."

Sakai smiled and hugged Master Hakurei.

"You can come and visit anytime, Sakai."

"Thank you, Master Hakurei."

Gensokyo had become a different place now. Youkai had appeared, as well as more gods besides Suwako. Sakai took her things and crossed through the hole. She decided she needed a new name for her new life, and called herself Yukari Yakumo. She practiced her barrier-making skills every day until she became a youkai with the ability to control all borders.

Author's note: jii: old man/grandpa, etc...


End file.
